New Avon & Somerset stop and search policy aims to improve trust

Avon and Somerset Police are introducing various changes to try and become an anti-racist force

New short films aim to highlight the voices of young people from marginalised communities
Author: James DiamondPublished 10th Jul 2024

It's hoped a change in the way Avon and Somerset Police manage their stop and search powers will increase trust in the force.

Earlier this week senior officers announced a change as part of much wider efforts to try and become an "anti-racist" force, one year after Chief Constable Sarah Crew declared that AS Police are institutionally racist.

The change means officers carrying out a stop and search are now being told to film the entire interaction from start to finish.

Filming was already mandatory for officers, but Greatest Hits Radio understands that often the cameras have only been turned on mid way through interactions, making it hard to evaluate them in their entirety.

Chief Inspector Vicks Hayward Melen, AS Police's force lead for stop and search, spoke to us during their Race Matters event at Empire Fighting Chance on Tuesday (9 June).

She said: "We actually are good at using body worn video to capture stop and search, our average usage is between 97 and 98 per cent at the moment, which is fantastic (but) clearly 100 per cent is the aspiration.

"The difference with what we've made and what we've brought in is looking at the quality of the body worn video, so what I mean by that is not just turning it on, turning it on at the right point during the interaction.

"So, is it capturing the start of the conversation...and the end of the interaction, rather than just something in the middle."

Creative Power Town

This week's news comes nearly a month after several short films premiered in Bristol, all about stop and search.

Created by a group called Creative Power Town (CPT) and premiered at the Old Vic Theatre last month (13th June), they have been made to teach young people their rights if they ever find themselves stopped and searched by the police.

They also highlight the trauma that can be caused by an unjust stop and aim to highlight the talent that exists within the city's marginalised communities.

Their premiere came just days after Avon and Somerset Police used enhanced stop and search powers on 14 people in Easton, following the stabbing of two people near Stapleton Road on Sunday 9th June.

Of the 14 people stopped all were from ethnic minorities and none were found to be carrying a weapon.

Speaking exclusively to us at the screening, Omari Cato, chief executive of CPT said: "Tonight the message was around actually knowing your rights in stop and searches.

"It was around the disproportionality in stop and search for the black community that's been going on for quite a while, and just making content so young people actually do know their rights. And it was about empowering young people on that journey."

The stars of the films are all young black Bristolian actors, including Khadija Sawyers who wrote and performed her own spoken word piece about the impact of unjust stops.

She said: "I feel very honoured that I was able to even be a part of this, to tell these stories and to make people's voices in the community heard...

"Me, growing up here in Bristol, in St Pauls growing up there, you see a lot of police and stop and searches, police bothering young groups of kids when they're just hanging around in their neighbourhood.

"It's sad to say but it's very common. Not all the time it's bad but a lot of the time it is unnecessary and bad and I was able to draw from those experiences."

In our previous coverage of knife crime across Avon and Somerset we have heard the view that an important step to reducing incidents would be to show young people that they are valued more.

Omari said that was a major reason for creating these films.

He said: "That is vital.

"When young people are being groomed (into criminal gangs) they get gaslighted a lot. They're told yeah you can do this, you're going to make money and actually they're signing up for a life or drama, a life of trauma.

"When we actually embrace them ourselves we get them empowered and it's about us showing them that they're loved...It is that village actually lifting up our young people and actually showing them that you can.

"That's a message that hasn't been said in ages."

Through their focus on unjust stops, the films highlight the distrust that exists towards police officers.

The longest film, which lasts around seven minutes and you can watch below, shows two police officers stopping a group of friends on their way home from the cinema and how that situation quickly escalates.

It is perhaps surprising then, that the films were created with funding from and in partnership with Avon and Somerset Police.

Giving a speech at the event Chief Inspector Hayward-Melen, said they wanted a film created that shows young people their rights.

Going forward, CPT hopes to create a feature film showcasing how a young person can end up drawn into knife crime.

The group is currently fundraising to pay for the project.

If you would like to read more about CPT, you can do so here.

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